M Monsters Inc.

The muscular BMW M2 Coupe and even more potent M4 Coupe have unique ways of delivering driving thrills.

- Dr Kong Yongyao

THE very first BMW M3 (E30) wrote the book on sheer driving pleasure in the shape of an everyday car. It remains an icon in automotive history.

BMW’s quest for supremacy, however, meant that as time went by, the M3 grew bigger and faster, until it finally left a space below it for a smaller, more playful machine.

One such machine is the limited production 1 Series M Coupe, which received critical acclaim when it was launched in 2011.

The M2, which arrives four years later, succeeds the 1 Series M Coupe. More importantly, it carries the promise of being the E30’s spiritual successor. The M2’s pedigree couldn’t be finer, and enthusiasts’ expectations couldn’t be weightier.

I must confess that I am a Bimmer fan. Growing up, my favourite reads were my parents’ brand catalogues and quarterly BMW magazines.

Before I was even tall enough to see over the dashboard, I found something alluring and bewitching about the E30 M3, which looks like my mother’s 316i but can run rings around most cars on public roads.

As I get into the salted-egg yolk yellow, quadruple-tailpipe M4, I rub my hands in both glee and trepidation at meeting the latest incarnation of my childhood hero.

My first impressions of the car are indeed positive. The M4’s inline 6-cylinder awakens with an anti-social boom. There is a perpetual growling ferocity about the M4 that loudly advertises its specialness to the casual observer, before a challenging road is even encountered.

It is not long before I find a stretch of highway and let it rip. Yes, the M4 is equipped with what BMW calls “Active Sound Design”, but the ruckus piped in through the sound system doesn’t sound different from outside – it is merely amplified.